Quick, and fresh Memorial Weekend apps

Got plans for Memorial Day “Weekend”? Grills will be fired up, and kids will be geared up for fun outdoor play!!

Great times to gather together with family, and friends for fun, and food! With the weather warming up no one wants to be sweltering over a hot stove.

I’ve got a quick and easy idea to share with you- and it doesn’t involve hours at the stove!

Some of the best dishes are the ones you can easy pick up with your hands. So, how about a puff pastry pocket? What to put into it?

I stumbled across a Mediterranean pocket recipe, easy to modify if needed- love that I can customize without risking quality and taste!

We’ll start with the filling- clean and fresh ingredients.

Chopped spinach- start with one and a half cups. You can go more or less depending on how many you are making

Fine diced black olives – I used one cup because I was making quite a few little pockets; a little goes a long way. You don’t want it too salty

Finely diced onions- about half a cup, you can also use about two tablespoons of the granulated or powdered onions since this will not be a precooked filling

Fine slivers of sun-dried tomatoes- about one half to three quarters cup

Granulated garlic- two to three tablespoons

Crumbled feta cheese- one to one and a half cups

The star of the dish is the protein- Wild Planet Foods Organic Chicken Breast. I started with one can, because you are going to “crumble” it. You can always add another can to balance it if you are making a large number of puff pockets.

A couple of tablespoons of olive oil will give moisture to the filling and help bind it all together. Mix all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl until well blended. You can add a sprinkle of black pepper, you might need to add just a small sprinkle of salt, remember the olives can be salty.

Time to create the pockets! I started with one box of puff pastry, use the brand you are comfortable with. Unfold your pastry sheet, one sheet at a time. You can also roll it out with a rolling pin to adjust the thickness what will now be your “crust”.

My only special tool is a little cookie cutter that folds in half to make little empanadas. Mine is pretty old, I’m pretty sure you can still find them in stores such as Walmart; or you can pinch the edges, too.

I did an egg wash to help seal the pockets on the edges and then on the surface of the pockets before putting it in the oven. Since I was “winging” this I started at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, adding time until the pockets were golden brown.

Here’s the end result:

My taste panel, AKA my family liked that it wasn’t oily, light and enjoyed the taste. And I didn’t have to sweat it out at the stove!!

It surely helped having Wild Planet Foods Organic Chicken Breast in the pantry! Great and easy go to for healthy eating!!